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Blown Away (album)
Back to Main Page Blown Away is the fourth studio album from American country singer Carrie Underwood. It was released in the United States and Canada on May 1, 2012.[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=1 edit Background |- | colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"| |- style="text-align: center;" ! colspan="3" style="background: lightsteelblue;"|Singles from Blown Away |- style="text-align: left; line-height: 11px; vertical-align: top;" | colspan="3" style="font-size: 90%;"| #"Good Girl" Released: February 23, 2012 |} After finishing the Play On Tour, Underwood took her time working on Blown Away. She stated that she "wanted to change things up", and she needed to step away from the "celebrity bubble" to "have real things to write about and real things to sing about."|[2] Underwood has stated that this album will contain material that is different from her previous efforts. She has stated that she isn't trying to impress people with what she can do" and she doesn't "have to sing to the moon with every single song" with this project. The lead single, "Good Girl," is said to be the album's most upbeat track, with the other tracks creating a much darker record.[3] The album combines country, pop, and rock genres.[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=2 edit Reception http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=3 edit Critical reception Upon its release, the album received positive reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave a positive review to the album, awarding it with four stars out of five and said: naturally, this showstopping act suits a former American Idol winner but, better still, this exercise in turn-of-the-millennium nostalgia is executed with skill and savvy, offering the kind of larger-than-life power ballads and cheerful, clomping arena country. This is Carrie's wheelhouse—she's meant to sing these oversized ballads and hooks, she's meant to look as unattainable as she does on the cover. She's meant to be a superstar and she's never seemed as comfortable with her calling as she does on Blown Away. Deborah Evans Price of Billboard praised the album, saying, "Underwood delivers her most adventurous album yet, tackling a variety of emotional topics, including abuse, infidelity, revenge and regret."[13] Ian Ewing of Keepin' It Country rated the album 9.5 on a scale of 10, and highlighted the title track, saying, "Although there's nothing to mark it as a country song, it's a stunning piece of music that can't help but impress."[14] Daryl Addison of GAC praised the album, saying, "Carrie doesn't shy away from complexities, and with a powerful voice unafraid to push the envelope, Blown Away could be just the album to show what's possible for pop-influenced country."[15] Jessica Nicholson of Country Weekly rated the album with four stars out of five and said: "This is easily Carrie’s most well-rounded and confident work to date". The New York Times gave a positive review to the album and said: Ms. Underwood enjoys rage; her huge voice, both naïve and muscular, is well suited to it. Her best songs have historically been in the range between fury and resentment. “Blown Away” is only her fourth album, but that number belies her concrete-hard place in the country firmament, with a combination of vocal ambition and toughness that recalls a younger Martina McBride. Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, and referred to Blown Away as Underwood's "most stadium-rock-friendly album yet.[16] Mikael Wood of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LA_Times LA Times] was less than enthusiastic about the album, giving it two stars out of four, and saying that much of the album "finds Underwood using her remarkable voice to deliver feel-good bromides like those in the lightly-reggae-inflected 'One Way Ticket.'"[17] While Johnathan Keefe of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slant_Magazine Slant] magazine wasn't overly impressed with the album in his review, giving the album 3 stars, he did give Underwood credit for "at least taking far more creative risks than she ever has before and occasionally straying from a formula that had become stale and predictable."[18] Melissa Newman of Hitfix gave the album a B, but criticized the album's material, calling it "a mixed bag, with the songs running the gamut from ranking among her best to wondering who the hell let some of them on the album."[19] Sean Daly of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Bay_Times Tampa Bay Times] gave the album a C, saying, "Cliche pleadings for lost love dominate Blown Away, which sounds a lot more Hollywood safe than Nashville tough."[20] Jody Rosen of "RollingStone" gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars saying that "Underwood's voice is as powerful as ever, but Blown Away tries too hard, ratcheting up melodrama with strings and effects."[21] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=4 edit Commercial performance Blown Away debuted at number one in the United States on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_200 Billboard 200] chart with first-week sales of 267,000 copies. It is Carrie Underwood's third number-one album on the chart, following Carnival Ride (2007) and Play On (2009). She is the third female to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 with three country albums, thus tying her with Linda Ronstadt and Faith Hill.[22] Like her three previous album, Blown Away also debuted at the top of the Country Albums chart, making Underwood only the second female to achieve that feat.[23] In Canada, the album debuted at number one, with first-week sales of 17,300 copies.[24] It's been already certified Gold in Canada. It also debuted at number four on the ARIA Top 50 Albums and at number one on the ARIA Top 20 Country Albums charts in Australia.[25] Blown Away started a "Carrie Fever" in Australia, with the album selling quickly and out in many stores.[26] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=5 edit Promotion With the release of her highly anticipated fourth album, Underwood made numerous television, radio, and online appearances. On April 29, Underwood was featured on Nightline, and on April 30, Good Morning America aired an exclusive interview. Later that evening, Underwood performed "Good Girl" on Late Show with David Letterman as well as a performed on the Live on Letterman webcast concert series streaming live online. On May 1, Carrie returned to Good Morning America to perform a special live outdoor concert in Times Square, followed by an iHeartRadio Live performance streaming live online that evening. Underwood appeared on American Idol on May 3 with a special performance of the title track from her album. Underwood is also scheduled to make appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 9, Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 10, and Dancing with the Stars on May 15, followed by the Billboard Music Awards live from Las Vegas on May 20.[27] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=6 edit Tour On May 1, 2012, Underwood announced The Blown Away Tour. The tour will include an international run of shows during the summer of 2012, including her first-ever United Kingdom concert, taking place at the prestigious Royal Albert Hall in London on June 21. The Royal Albert Hall concert sold out within the first 90 minutes of public ticket sales. Additional international concert dates are expected to be announced.[28] Opening for Underwood on the North American leg of the tour is country singer Hunter Hayes. Underwood will be donating $1 from each ticket sold on the North American leg of the tour to support the Red Cross disaster relief. The Blown Away Tour will begin September 14 in Manchester, and will continue deep into December.[29][30] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=7 edit Track listing The track listing was revealed on March 26, 2012. All songs were produced by Mark Bright.[31] http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=8 edit Charts http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=9 edit Album http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=10 edit Singles http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blown_Away_(album)&action=edit&section=11 edit Release dates Category:Albums Category:Carrie Underwood Albums